EU will not send leaders to Arctic Council meeting in Tromsø

NorthNorway European Office was established 1. January 2005. The office is owned by the County Council of Nordland and Troms. Photo: www.northnorway.org.

Despite the fact that the European Commission places increasing stress on the Arctic Council as an instrument in Arctic developments, the European government body will not send any commissioners to the upcoming Arctic Council meeting in Tromsø, northern Norway.

In a seminar organized by the North Norway European Office in Brussels today, commission representatives confirmed that no commissioners will attend the Tromsø meeting. Thomas Dux from the EU Commission, DG for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, in the seminar confirmed that the Union will be represented only with officials.

It is expected that most of the Arctic Council members will be represented in the council session with foreign ministers. In the meeting Norway will hand the chair of the council over to Denmark. Both the Russian and Norwegian foreign ministers will be presented in the Norwegian Arctic city.

Also US State Secretary Hilary Clinton has shown a high level of interest in the Arctic and could possibly turn up in the Tromsø meeting.

The low level EU representation comes amid an increasing EU focus on Arctic issues. In its new Arctic communication presented last November, the EU Commission highlights the importance of multilateral Arctic governance and places high emphasis on the role of the Arctic Council.

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